Posted
by
timothy
on Thursday February 05, 2015 @11:28AM
from the and-while-you're-at-it dept.

itwbennett writes As reported Wednesday by the news website The Intercept, the U.S. National Security Agency and its intelligence partners are sifting through data stolen by state-sponsored and freelance hackers on a regular basis in search of valuable information. A page from an internal wiki used by the intelligence agencies of the U.S., Canada and the U.K, which was last modified in 2012 and was among the files leaked by Edward Snowden reads: "Hackers are stealing the emails of some of our targets... by collecting the hackers' 'take' we 1) get access to the emails ourselves and 2) get insights into who's being hacked."

As Americans, there are some values we cherish above others, which you Eurotrash with your lack of a Bill of Rights or the fire of the Declaration of Independence, would never understand.

And among those American values that we try to live our lives by, and teach to our childen through constant example, there is only one that we hold higher and more idealistic esteem than cowardice. And that premiere value is apathy. If you care about anything, that's not cool, and so, you aren't cool. And if you care and are willing to speak up about it, that's even not-cooler.

Because most of those of us with the courage to post under our own/. ID recognize that Snowden, while performing a large public service also immensely damaged the USA & other allied countries in revealing to people that are the enemies of everything that we believe in how we spy on them, what we know & how we learned it.

Snowden's services in the former do not make the latter disappear & if apprehended Snowden should pay for them. Until then, let him benefit from the "freedom" that Putin is offe

"Thugs", being the big and scary type tend to fight with other "thugs", this can be used to reduce the size of their network but can be expedited with a bit of instigation. If they can force organized crime on the people, then the people can organize a "Valentines Day" on them. Beyond that this country still holds the 1st amendment, anything that bleeds can be killed, most laws under the condition of emergency do not apply.

Alternatively a law can be drafted to render known members of the "thugs" aka the "

Yes sir, I'd like to take a look at that 12ga. nuke....... or are you saying they will start a nuclear war if we revolt against organized crime? My response would be "shit or get off the pot, push the fucking button".

Because most of those of us with the courage to post under our own/. ID...

Speak for yourself, fascist!

Snowden did nothing whatsoever to "damage" the USA; the NSA did all the damage itself. Snowden is a hero, period.

That said, the government should not "grant clemency" to Snowden because doing so still implies that he did something wrong and the government is merely being "merciful." Instead, what the government should do is exonerate Snowden and go after the real criminals, i.e., the treasonous fuckwads at the NSA.

You assertion that America's signal intelligence organization should be criminally prosecuted for doing what Congress explicitly authorizes, directs, and pays it to do, is precious beyond words. I'm also sure you think that the United States is the only nation on the planet with such an operation.

First, Congress does not have the authority to direct any entity to act unconstitutionally.

Second, by implying that you believe the NSA acted properly, you are conflating the NSA's legal actions against foreigners

If you're wondering about traitors in the UK, one might look at the abuses at Rotherham and who enabled them. Then look at all the no-go zones and the general lack of courage to stand up to militant Islam.

On the other hand, a GCHQ intelligence swap with the NSA would serve to ensure no safe haven for any terrorist. The UK would benefit from the effectively world-wide reach of the US while the US would get detailed coverage.

Lol, mr-anarchy, after calling me a fascist for stating the obvious (Snowden caused enormous damage to the US & will not be forgiven) now whines that he was the victim of an ad-hominem.

That you must suffer with a supreme court, a government, law enforcement & in fact the immense majority of the US population that refuse to recognize that YOUR interpretation of the constitution is the only correct one. Oh, how that must be frustrating for you...

He provided intelligence to known-hostile countries such as Russia and China. In addition, various anti-American groups (such as ISIS and others inspired by them) have adjusted their actions to account for the unauthorized disclosures.

Snowden's proper place is a secure corrections facility in Florence, Colorado - after the evidence is used to convict him in a US court of law. The NSA's proper place is to exist as they are now and adapt to threa

The US government has the responsibility to mitigate and litigate leaks. Snowden could have used the whistle-blower route. He says he has good reason for not doing that. Whether he is guilty of treason or other crimes has yet to be determined. Until such time, he is presumed to be innocent.

He's in Russia and they will not give him up. That's Russia's call. Snowden's documents are still being released and that's expected.

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Clemency is not granted by popular vote. It is granted via due process. Snowden is avoiding due process, and, because he is working within the legal framework of a complicated mixture of US and Russian law, his situation is still legal when judged in his current context. Russia will not extradite, and that's their business. US cannot extract him and that is what it is.

Until America or Russia or Snowden chooses to make a move to change things, the legality of each party is in equilibrium.

Innocent. I don't think that word means that you think it means.I am not even talking about the people in guantanamo bay. (Or do you mean with 'all' 'only people in the US with a US nationality) I am talking about people who tried the whistle-blower route. I am talking about everybody who is being investigated. I am talking basically about everybody. You are not even presumed guilty, you ARE guilty and they just did not yet bother to harras

That is incorrect. The American justice system is based upon the opinions of judges on the laws written by the legislature with respect to their adherence to the Constitution, the Declaration, other founding documents, British common law, and the founding principles.

That having been said, a case like this would have to reach the justice system first before it could be subject to American justice. And in this situation, just as in say, Assange's situation, there's good reason to believe that these people wou

The US government has the responsibility to mitigate and litigate leaks. Snowden could have used the whistle-blower route. He says he has good reason for not doing that. Whether he is guilty of treason or other crimes has yet to be determined. Until such time, he is presumed to be innocent.

The evidence against him (which grows with each unauthorized disclosure) assures his guilt in all but name.

He's in Russia and they will not give him up. That's Russia's call. Snowden's documents are still being released and that's expected.

A fugitive from justice in the most criminal-friendly country. Turn up the heat against Russia and they'll crack - especially with their bad economy.

Snowden did the right thing for all the enemies of America and we all benefited from it, so we all owe him a favor.

He only helped the enemies of the US, such as Russia, China, and entities like ISIS. The sooner he/his helpers can face justice in a US court (and convicted with the Mt. Everest of evidence), the sooner America is done a favor.

Your original words can only be spoken in the context of the Russian/Chinese governments or the various groups that stand against the US and its allies, such as ISIS.

I little ole me does most of what TFA describes UK intelligence doing. OF COURSE you pay attention to open sources like Twitter and blogs.

TFA is silly in asserting that the government said Anonymous is a threat "but" their own memo says the threat is small COMPARED TO THE THREAT FROM NATION STATES. Duh, China is a bigger threat than Anonymous. That doesn't mean hacktivists aren't a threat.

Other world governments that are increasing their internal population surveillance (in some cases, because they suspect NSA intervention in their internal affairs) are also surely giving that collected information to NSA in a silver platter by that same reason.

But it's only "bad" when the NSA does it (That's what French politicians say when referring to spying by the NSA/DGSE, what German politicians say when referring to spying by the NSA/BND, what Brazilian...).

There are numerous spiders slurping up the entire public corpus of Pastebin. You can observe this by creating a new public paste. Check it 24, 48, 72 hours later and watch as the view count increments. Their recently added pastes [pastebin.com] list is heavily mined, and who knows who's saving it all. I doubt the "private" pastes are much more secure.

Of course, that makes the faulty assumption that it is unquestionably true. The only source is someone that cannot be trusted.

On the other hand, such unauthorized releases of material, including everything from the Intercept, has only served to cause harm.

Through their actions, they are indirectly complicit in aiding/abetting groups like ISIS, in addition to directly being complicit in aiding hostile countries like Russia and China. The blood is on all of their hands - nothing short of turning themselves

I don't know about hackers, but lately China has done more to help me secure my university than the NSA, FBI, and Homeland Security combined.

I do network and computer security for a university. In the last couple years we have received a couple alerts from the FBI. The info was fairly old and limited in scope. And, they didn't want us to share the info with those who really needed to have it.